Thursday, March 9, 2017

DORIA PAMPHILJ PALACE (first part)

The first
small palace was built in mid-fifteenth century for Cardinal Nicolò Acciapacci

Rebuilt in
1505/07 for the Cardinal Giovanni Fazio Santoro who was expelled by Pope Julius
II Della Rovere (1503/13) in favor of his nephew, Francesco Maria I Della Rovere

It was
bought in 1601 by Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini and expanded

It was
brought as a dowry in 1647 by Olimpia Maidalchini to Camillo Pamphilj for whom
it was enlarged in 1659 by Antonio Del Grande
(about 1625/79) who also designed the TWO FAÇADES ON PIAZZA DEL COLLEGIO ROMANO

“The rhythm
adopted is complex and discontinuous: to respect it, taking account of the
interior spaces, Del Grande was forced to introduce false windows. The best
results are achieved in the details, where, despite giving up substantial
innovations, he gave proof of considerable subtleties of interpretation. The
most interesting episode however, is the large vestibule, whose oval is divided
by two pairs of free columns. (...) The arrangements of the vaults and of the
free supports creates a fluid and indeterminate space: the staircase, grafting
the vestibule with an oval smaller space, leaves intact the levitation effect,
which has no direct precedent in the Roman architecture of the seventeenth
century” (Manfredo Tafuri - Biographical Dictionary of Italian Treccani)

“He designed
an unprecedented solution for the front main composition. Notwithstanding the
Borromini matrix, the undisputed leading role played by the windows, the varied
and imaginative forms they take, the wise rhythmic score, the attention to
details, make the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj unique in eighteenth-century Roman
palace style” (Carlo Bertelli, Giuliano Briganti, Antonio Giuliano)